


One Date

by ofstormsandwolves



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, First Dates, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-12-21 08:49:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11940603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofstormsandwolves/pseuds/ofstormsandwolves
Summary: Post-Reset, canon divergence. After Jack saves Owen's life at the Pharm, Tosh gets her promised date.





	One Date

**Author's Note:**

> This is years old but never got posted here, so I'm rectifying it.

Toshiko Sato sat nervously at a table at the closest pub to the Torchwood Hub. She had gone home after work to shower and change, agreeing to meet Owen at the pub in two hours. That two hours had been and gone, and Tosh was still sitting alone. She glanced around at the door again, fingers playing with the beer mat in front of her. No sign of Owen. She turned back again, flashing the sympathetic-looking barman a quick smile and trying to hide her embarrassment. 

The pub had been slowly filling since Tosh had gotten there fifteen minutes beforehand, and was now full of patrons of all ages. Tosh was the only woman there alone, she noted silently. Glancing at the clock, she resolved to give Owen five more minutes. After all, he was only a few minutes late. She checked her phone, but there was no text from Owen, nor one from Jack calling her back to work. It was then that Tosh realised that maybe- just maybe- Owen had stood her up, deciding not to humour her with one date. As the minutes ticked by, Tosh’s hope faded, and with a sigh, she got to her feet.

“Not leaving, I hope?”

Tosh looked up to see Owen stood in front of her, a small smile on his face. As always, he was dressed in jeans and a button down shirt, but he’d clearly gone home to change and shower.

“No, no, not at all. Want a drink?” Tosh asked, quickly covering for herself.

“No, don’t be silly, Tosh. I’ll get them,” Owen told her, giving her a brief smile as he pulled out his wallet. “Your usual?”

Mutely, Tosh nodded, sinking back into her chair and watching as Owen crossed to the bar. He returned a few minutes later with a vodka and coke for Tosh and a pint of bitter for himself. As Owen lowered himself into the empty chair opposite Tosh and slid her drink across the table to her, he studied her intently.

“You really did think I’d stood you up, didn’t you?” he asked her.

Tosh blushed and sipped at her drink, not meeting his eyes.

“Tosh, look at me,” Owen frowned, leaning forward.

Tosh looked up, slightly shocked by Owen’s gentle tone.

“I promised you one date, remember?” Owen reminded her with a small smile. “One date to see how it goes. Like I said, it might lead nowhere, but we’ll have to wait and see.”

Tosh nodded, smiling uncertainly as she recalled their conversation a few days prior.

“It’s just… I thought you were just being… nice,” Tosh admitted with a shrug.

Owen sighed, sitting back in his chair and staring at his pint of bitter for a few moments.

“Tosh, I may do a lot of stupid things,” he began carefully, “but promising people dates just to stand them up is something not even I would do.”

“But I thought-” Tosh began, wide-eyed.

“Look, no offence Tosh, but you don’t really know me. Not really. None of us really know each other do we? Not at Torchwood.” Owen blinked, before leaning forward and taking a deep breath. “I… I’ve done all this sort of thing before. Dating. I… I was engaged. A woman named Katie Russell. She…. She died.”

“Alien parasite. I know,” Tosh chipped in.

At Owen’s surprised look, Tosh looked a little embarrassed and ducked her head.

“I, uh, read your personnel file.”

Owen chuckled at that, shaking his head.

~~

“Fancy a game of pool then?” Owen asked suddenly, downing the last of his pint.

Tosh looked momentarily shocked, before smiling and nodding. With a smile, they got to their feet and crossed the pub to the unoccupied pool table. Toshiko watched as Owen busied himself with setting the balls up.

“I thought I’d lost you,” Tosh piped up quietly, passing Owen one of the cues.

Owen blinked, looking at Tosh, unsure what to say.

“At the Pharm. I really thought I was going to lose you,” Tosh continued, watching Owen worriedly.

“I’m right here,” Owen told her gently, flashing her a brief smile before nodding at the pool table. “Now, are you breaking, or me?”

Tosh smiled. “You can.” 

Toshiko watched in silence as Owen took the first shot, expertly breaking the balls and scattering them across the table.

“But you were really gonna let Aaron Copley kill you, weren’t you?” Tosh asked as she took her own shot.

She didn’t need to look round to know that Owen was watching her intently. There was silence for a few moments, and Tosh took her shot, the white ball spinning across the table and bouncing off one of the cushions.

“I couldn’t let him kill Martha,” Owen replied simply.

Tosh straightened, not meeting his gaze, and Owen slowly stepped forward to take his shot.

“You’re lucky Jack pushed you out of the way. Lucky that he can’t die,” Tosh pointed out after a while, certain to keep her voice soft so that the other patrons of the pub didn’t overhear.

Owen swallowed hard, stepping away from the table and looking over at Tosh.

“I know,” Owen answered. “I owe him my life.”

The pair settled into an uncomfortable silence for the next few minutes as Tosh and Owen continued their game of pool. After a few minutes, Owen broke the silence.

“Listen, Tosh, can we just… Enjoy tonight, yeah? This was meant to be a date. So… We’ll just forget all about Torchwood, all about Aaron Copley and the Pharm, just for one night, yeah? Just… Get to know each other.”

Tosh paused for a few moments before forcing a smile and nodding.

“Ok, yeah,” she agreed with a shy smile.

~~

Two hours later, Owen and Tosh were finally heading out of the pub.

“So,” Toshiko asked slightly nervously, “had a good time?”

As she glanced over at Owen, she could see him carefully thinking about how to reply. Then, slowly, a small smile spread across his face.

“Yeah,” Owen replied, his smile growing as he looked over at Tosh. “Yeah, it was good.”

“Good,” Tosh responded, smiling. “I enjoyed it too.”

As the pair walked down the road, Owen began speaking again.

“So we could do this again sometime. Maybe.”

Tosh stopped walking at Owen’s words.

“Yeah?” Tosh asked, a little disbelieving.

Owen stopped beside her, smiling at her.

“Yeah.”


End file.
